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This Week in SGA: Nov. 13

Elvis Mull makes his appeal in front of members of the SGA. Photo: Ryan Bourgoin/Forum

This week, the senate denied an appeal from Elvis Mull, a former senator from the College of Social Sciences and Communication, who was recently dismissed for excessive absences.

Mull was dismissed after missing four SGA meetings this semester. Mull stated the reason for the absences was conflicting meetings as ambassador for the College of Social Sciences and Communication.

“I guess it’s just bad communication on both ends, on my part,” Mull said. “It was a little unfair because I was not told, ‘Hey, I have so many absences [sic], start showing up.’ Nobody ever called me to see if I could call into a meeting or anything, which I could have done.”

Secretary Chris Foy and Sen. Loveleen Kaur both expressed concern that Mull would not be able to adequately serve both positions, as it would require paying attention to two meetings at once.

President Brian Gregory said that Mull was informed of his absences. Secretary Foy said that he contacted Vice President Faith Thomas once Mull had accumulated three absences, who then spoke with Mull about the issue.

Sen. Larry Dicus gave a decidedly negative response to Mull’s appeal.

“I’ve been in the senate for three years. It’s been the same thing since then, so I don’t see why it hasn’t changed by now,” Dicus said. “Each president since then has also had these problems with him, saying he will work on stuff for them, and does not show up to what he’s been working on.”

Sen. Kiauna Rome, who herself must call in to attend SGA meetings, was less critical.

“I think you need to think about it as if you were in the situation, and you would want a second chance too,” Rome said.

She said that Mull’s predicament was similar to her own earlier in the semester, and advised the senate to think about the inherent difficulty in handling multiple responsibilities.

Gregory delivered the senate’s decision after hearing arguments. He thanked Mull for his previous contributions to student government and expressed hope that they would continue in some form outside of the senate.

The SGA also set an official date and location for the “Your Voice Heard!” town hall meeting: Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 6 p.m. in the Donaghey Student Center, Meeting Room G. For the first 20-30 minutes, the SGA will host an anonymous survey of those attending, and later break into groups with students to discuss the answers they gave.